Selden G. Hooper v. C. C. Hartman, Rear Admiral Usn, Commandant, Eleventh Naval District

Hooper, a retired admiral of the regular Navy, challenges the right of the Navy to try him before a navy court martial for moral offenses. Unlike Toth in United States ex rel. Toth v. Quarles, 350 U.S. 11 , 76 S.Ct. 1 , 100 L.Ed. 8 , Hooper was not confined or placed under restraint. Thus, there was no basis for habeas corpus in Hooper’s case.

By naming the Commandant of the Eleventh Naval District (San Diego, Calif.) as defendant, Hooper claimed jurisdiction for a district court of this circuit. Hooper has been convicted by the court martial of at least some of the charges against him. However, at the time of oral argument in this court, the court martial trial was undergoing various stages of administrative review and review by the Court of Military Appeals and such reviews are not yet complete. 9 U.S.C.M.A. 637 . The district court found jurisdiction on one count. Hooper v. Hartman, D.C., 163 F.Supp. 437 . However, the ruling below on that count, too, was against Hooper.

Although very interesting questions lurk here, we conclude that the doctrine of exhaustion of remedies (here the military) is implicit in the trial court’s judgment dismissing the proceed ings and such a…